The trailblazing multi-university group will come into effect as a legal entity from 1 August 2026. The University of Greenwich and the University of Kent will continue to operate as two distinct academic divisions within the new structure, whilst retaining their individual names, identity and brands. Students will continue to apply to, study at and graduate from their chosen university. All staff from both universities will be employed by the university group.
Our new multi-university group will become around the third largest higher education institution in the UK. Students will remain at the heart of everything we do, and we will be a powerful force for our region – playing a vital role in upskilling local people, supporting communities and partnering with business.
For the two universities to form the new multi-university group, the legal process requires the University of Greenwich initially to change its name to the London and South East University Group*, which will be a company limited by guarantee. The University of Kent will then join the group to complete the formal process, which will complete by 1 August 2026. The new group will retain the same charitable objectives as the two universities have now.
The new super-university will have one unified board of governors, one executive team, and one vice-chancellor. Beyond this, no decisions have been made on future structural changes. Integration teams are being established at Greenwich and Kent who will lead on the project of integrating the two institutions over the next couple of years.
The combined entity will provide a strong financial foundation to weather current and future economic challenges, widen access to higher education, address skills gaps and inequalities, and increase research capacity, particularly in shared priority areas, such as food security and sustainability, health and wellbeing and the creative industries. Its collective power will enable it to tackle real world issues with greater impact locally, nationally and globally.